What Is Perfect
by Vulpes-Macrotis
Summary: Calliope has been moving from school to school because of bullying due to her body type, and the fact that she was born without hair. Roxy is a normal teenager with a big heart, who takes the girl under her wing. Neither of them expected to fall in love. Humanstuck. Summer AU. /CHEESYCHEESYCHEESYPLZ
1. Prologue

I stare up at the ceiling, just thinking. How did it come to this?

The only sounds are the light breathing of the person sleeping next to me, and the cicadas buzzing outside. My room is pitch black, save for the soft flickering of a streetlamp through the opened window. The thin white curtains billow in the breeze, and the form next to me shivers beneath the blankets. I should be sleeping perfectly. The environment is just right, and the alcohol from earlier should be tugging at my eyelids. It's almost dreamy. Is this a dream? Am I really here? It does not matter, I decide. So here I lay. Thinking. I pull the blanket up to my chin, shifting my legs closer to the warmth of my partner.

So really… how did this happen again?


	2. Chapter 1

_Lame first chapter is llaaame. I hope that this will get better the more I write at it, because this was a pairing I really wanted to write for. It may be crack, but I like it!_

* * *

I whistled as I strolled through the empty school hallways. Most of the students had already flocked to class considering lunch break was over, but the true feeling of emptiness came from the lack of decoration. Being the last week of school, teachers had begun to tear down the lovely posters provided by art club. Until the last day rolled around, this truly was the most depressing week of school.

After passing through the hall I turned to head up a small flight of stairs. Skipping class usually wasn't something I did, but it's not like we were learning anything anyway. We were just waiting around for school to end. And so I headed up to the auditorium, where I would camp out until we were allowed to leave. However… as I pushed the door open I heard quiet sobbing from the other side. Who? I was immediately concerned, and weaved my way through the seats so that I could possibly get a better view of who was crying. Sure enough, in the front row, there was a figure hunched over in the seat. Her shoulders trembled and her hands covered her head. As I got closer, I could see that she was wearing a pretty green sundress. And she was also completely bald. Wait, I had seen this girl before. She moved into the school district a few months back with her brother. She was in art club, and also played the flute in band. Wasn't her name something like… Cantaloupe? No that wasn't right. Who would name their child Cantaloupe anyway.

"Hey, are you okay?" I asked as softly as I could. The sobbing paused for a moment as she looked over her shoulder at me, her eyes wide. It was then that I noticed the spaghetti sauce dripping down the front of the dress, and her split lip. "Oh honey, what happened to you?" I took a seat next to her.

"They dumped…" She sniffled. "They dumped that kid's lunch on me." She laughed a little. "I mean, what are we, elementary kids?" The girl attempted to straighten out her clothes with another sniffle. Her almost cheerful attitude, despite her tears, baffled me at that time.

"Who did? Are you alright?" I put a comforting hand on one of her bony shoulders.

"Yes, I'm fine. But my face hurts a little." Cantaloupe reached up to touch her own lip, wincing at the sting and pulling her hand away to look at the blood.

"We should go get you cleaned up, come on." I took her wrist and stood up, leading her through the maze of seats and out of the auditorium. She seemed to have trouble keeping up with me, like she was trying to pull away but didn't want to at the same time. And it wasn't until we reached the bathroom that I finally let go of her wrist.

"You don't have to stay if you don't want to. You should be in class, I can clean up, really." The girl smiled softly and ran one hand over her bald head.

"Nah, I was skipping class anyway. Besides you look like you could use a friend." I smile and tilt my head.

"Oh. Thank you! My name is Calliope. You're Roxy right?"

Ah, Calliope. Not Cantaloupe. "Roxy's the name." I tugged a handful of paper towels from the dispenser and started mopping up the sauce that drenched her shoulders. At this distance, I could observe that she was not only bald, but didn't have eyelashes or eyebrows either. Still, she was a pretty girl with a round face and porcelain skin that made bright green eyes seem even brighter.

"I've seen you around," she beamed. "I never knew you were the type to do something like this. But judging someone that quickly isn't really my style. You have no idea how happy it makes me to know I have someone willing to help me out though. Thank you, love." Calliope's british accent was soothing, albeit difficult for my alcohol-dulled mind to comprehend.

"Don't worry about it girlie," I winked. "Here you go. You can clean up around your chest." She nodded and took the towels that I had held out for her. Calliope hesitated, then started wiping at the sauce before I stopped her. "Nuh uh, you have to dab at it. Wiping will rub it deeper into the fabric." Looking a bit embarrassed, she continued.

"So what happened exactly?" I asked after a few seconds had passed.

"Oh, I don't really want to talk about it. I was just starting to feel better and the last thing I need is to be reminded of what happened all over again," she said softly. "If you remind me I might tell you later, though." Again, she smiled. At that, I noticed freckles dotting her cheeks. _Cute._

"Whenever you feel like it sweety. I won't rush you." I went to hold the door open for her as she tossed out the paper towels. She went through with a polite nod and murmured her thanks. "You wanna go back to the auditorium?"

"I really must get to class. I'm dreadfully late." Calliope answered as we walked down the hall together.

"And be around the douche that did this to you, assuming that you two share a class? No way! We can talk." I motioned for her to follow me back, and was still slightly surprised when she did decide to tag along. The two of us sat down in the front row.

And we talked. The more we talked, the more we learned about each other. I discovered that she was born with something called Alopecia Universalis, along with her brother. Meaning no hair whatsoever. I had commented on how lucky she was not having to shave her legs or armpits, and she agreed, but she also explained that she had gone through a lot of teasing because of it. It was because of this reason that she moved schools. And after that I told her some things about myself, revealing my alcohol addiction, which wasn't exactly a well kept secret even among the school staff. Yet Calliope seemed surprised. And at the end of the day, as the last bell had rung, I felt like I had made a new friend. I made a mental note to talk to her the next time I saw her in the hall. Maybe ask some questions I had missed that day, like what she did in art club and if she could show me any of her pictures. Thinking about my new friend had felt nice.


	3. Chapter 2

"Callie!" I waved and started running, dropping a few books in the process. "Ah, shit. Hang on." I scooped them up as quickly as I could, and started again. I stopped in front of a giggling Calliope. She covered her mouth with her hand in the most endearing way. It made me smile too.

Calliope had been with a few of her art club friends working to clean up the last of the decorations and posters from the teachers lounge. The small girl was balancing on a table as she reached up to pick the last of the hanging decorations. Gifts to teachers from younger members of the club, from the looks of it.

"Need help?" I asked, setting down my books and raising my arms. She nodded, and I lifted her off the table and onto the ground. She was alarmingly light, actually. But it was no surprise, she truly was a tiny thing.

"Thank you, love!" She wrapped her arms around me in a quick hug, pulling back when one of her club members let out a soft cough behind her. "Oh, right." She took the stack of hanging decorations, adding hers to the pile. "I have to go put these back in the room. Care to walk with me?" I nodded, and Calliope led me to the art room.

I had never been in there before, but I liked it. The room was chilly, the floors and desks covered with splotches of paint. A row of shelves at the far wall contained a few clay sculptures that had been abandoned by students who were to lazy to take them home. In the front of the room was an enormous chalkboard that covered the entire wall. This was probably my favorite part, because the whole surface was covered with red chalk drawings.

"Did you draw any of those?" I asked as I took a seat on one of the tabletops. Calliope checked the clock— 10 minutes left before the next class. She then nodded.

"I drew that one." She pointed to a large drawing just off the center of the board. It was by far one of the best drawings, and I thought that she must have put a lot of time into it.

"Really?! Callie that's crazy! Did you really?" Calliope laughed.

"It's not the greatest. It was my first time trying to draw with chalk. But I do like it, and I'm glad you like it too!" She beamed happily, which made my heart flutter in the slightest.

"Are you kidding me? That's insane! You should sell your art, it's amazing. Really Callie you need to teach me or something."

"I am not the best teacher I'm afraid. And really, I'm not that good either." Her lilting accent made the words seem so much more beautiful to my ears.

"Still, you have to show me some more of your drawings sometime. You're truly talented." I gave her the most gracious smile I could muster. God, how was she so… perfect?

"You can look through my sketchbook if you wanted." When I nodded, she moved to sit next to me on the table. She pulled out a thick hardcover sketchbook from her bag, handing it over to me. I pawed through a few pages, quickly noticing the slight improvements from sheet to sheet. Front and back, covered with beautiful sketches and drawings. Many of them depicted people I had seen around school in flamboyant outfits, usually candy themed. And as I was flipping I stumbled across a drawing that took up one whole page. I didn't notice that it was me right away, I was just marveling in the fact that it was the only completed drawing I had seen so far and it was gorgeous. She had used a soft pastel color scheme (I was surprised to have remembered anything as artsy as that from art classes in my earlier years) and a cute sassy pose that I felt completely embodied my personality along with her Willy Wonka theme.

"Oh! I forgot I made that! I am so sorry!" Calliope quickly snatched the sketchbook out of my lap, closing it with a soft _thunk_ and pulling it close to her chest. She looked away in embarrassment, her cheeks bright red. At that moment I had wanted to kiss her.


	4. Chapter 3

_**this was so boring to write omfg**_

* * *

By the last day of school my feelings for Calliope were obvious. Maybe not to her or my classmates, but definitely to me. And this was confusing. I liked guys. I was sure of that. But I liked Calliope too and I was sure of that as well. One quick Google search had cured my doubt however, and I realized that liking both was completely normal. I had gone to school that day brimming with confidence, sure that I would confess how I felt in some flamboyant display of affection. However I went home that day without saying anything to her about it. The words had caught in my throat instead, and I had been barely able to utter a soft hello. I hadn't been nervous until that point. It really wasn't normal for me. So I wasn't surprised when I got a text from her after school.

"_Hey Rox. YoU seemed Upset today. Is everything alright?"_

"_yeah im fine girli"_

"_*girlie"_

"_Are yoU sUre? I don't mean to pry, bUt yoU avoided me all day."_

"_Did I do something wrong?"_

"_ah no no u didnt do anythng i was jsut tired"_

I took another long sip from my glass, relishing the feeling of the alcohol in my system. There was no feeling like it, really. And the worst part was that I fully acknowledged that I had a problem.

"_I know we have only been friends for a week or so, bUt yoU are still one of the best friends I have ever had. YoU woUld tell me if something was bothering yoU, right?"_

"_yea girl ik ik"_

"_its real silly tho"_

"_Oh come on Rox, jUst tell me! I'm cUrioUs! And if I can make yoU feel better, then I woUld want yoU to tell me even more!"_

"_fine fine i cant say no to u callie"_

"_damn ur cutnes"_

"_cuteness"_

"_shit that wasnt as smoot as i hopped"_

"_i kinda like somone"_

"_someone we bot know"_

"_Ooh! I've never done anything like this before!"_

"_Girl talk that is!"_

"_Tell me!"_

"_alriht alright"_

"_uh"_

"_its u"_

I waited through the pause, clutching my phone tightly. It might have been wrong to say it, but my head was foggy and it was all to easy over text. I had only known the girl for a week, really. I thought her name was Cantaloupe. Why was I suddenly confessing love for her a week later. I felt sick, and it wasn't because of the mass amounts of alcohol I had consumed previously. I was playing with her feelings, and even if she didn't return them it would probably ruin the friendship we were forming.

"_I did not think yoU liked girls, yoU're always ogling at Gam! ^u^"_

"_come on hes like a fuckin scupture with those muscles"_

"_does he lift"_

"_he probabobly does"_

"_but no hes a nutcase sry calli"_

"_Hah I know, I wish that he woUldn't… well… yoU know…"_

Calliope was referred to his drug addiction. Gamzee Makara had been a very important caretaker for her and her brother Caliborn, although he only had a few years on them. She wouldn't say exactly why, but she was quite close to him and it pained her to see how he was throwing his life away. He had made some bad decisions, and Caliborn was following in his footsteps from how Calliope had made it sound.

"_so uh about all this"_

"_Oh yes."_

"_I think… Uh…"_

"_Are we dating now?"_

"_did u just accept or"_

"_I gUess so! YoU're one of my best friends and I woUld love to take it a step fUrther uwu."_

"_hah"_

"_gaaayy"_

"_Oh shUt Up!"_

"_anyway i g2g to bed"_

"_seeya callie"_

"_It's only six o'clock."_

"_thats late for me"_

"_night"_

I set my phone on vibrate and placed it on the nightstand. For a few seconds I just laid there, drink in hand, staring up a the ceiling. Then I rolled over and buried my face into the pillow as I felt my face flush. I admit I was a bit worried, as I had never dated a girl before but at the same time it was exciting. Everyone said that dating your friends was the worst idea, but it just felt right. And besides, if either Calliope or I got uncomfortable we could always break it off. We were mature. Sorta. We wouldn't blow it out of proportion. Maybe. But at that moment I didn't want to think about a possible fault in the relationship because it was exciting and new. So instead I focused on the quiet buzzing that came from my phone. As curious as I was, reading the texts would have to wait until morning.


End file.
